Curbstone Financial Management Corp Sells 180 Shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK)

Curbstone Financial Management Corp lowered its stake in shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,080 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 180 shares during the quarter. Curbstone Financial Management Corp’s holdings in Verisk Analytics were worth $2,278,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Arlington Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in Verisk Analytics in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics during the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Salem Investment Counselors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. 90.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Verisk Analytics

In other Verisk Analytics news, insider Kathy Card Beckles sold 396 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.13, for a total transaction of $87,963.48. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,569,570.58. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Nicholas Daffan sold 1,564 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.75, for a total transaction of $356,201.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 41,607 shares in the company, valued at $9,475,994.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Kathy Card Beckles sold 396 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.13, for a total transaction of $87,963.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 7,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,569,570.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 17,637 shares of company stock worth $4,114,332. Insiders own 1.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on VRSK shares. Argus assumed coverage on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research report on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating and a $288.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Verisk Analytics from $229.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, August 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Verisk Analytics from $225.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 3rd. Raymond James raised their target price on Verisk Analytics from $225.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on Verisk Analytics in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verisk Analytics currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $240.00.

Verisk Analytics Price Performance

VRSK stock traded up $1.58 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $247.14. 115,444 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,033,865. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $234.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $214.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.29, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 52-week low of $162.94 and a 52-week high of $247.77. The company has a market capitalization of $35.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 74.19, a P/E/G ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 0.83.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 2nd. The business services provider reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.11. Verisk Analytics had a net margin of 18.64% and a return on equity of 83.76%. The business had revenue of $675.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $653.13 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 5.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Verisk Analytics Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 29th. Investors of record on Friday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 14th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. Verisk Analytics’s payout ratio is 41.09%.

About Verisk Analytics

Verisk Analytics, Inc provides data analytics solutions to the insurance markets in the United States and internationally. The company provides predictive analytics and decision support solutions to customers in rating, underwriting, claims, catastrophe and weather risk, global risk analytics, and various other fields.